My Brother’s Crawfish a Cajun gem

Why: My Brother’s Crawfish, which also has a location in Portland, recently opened in downtown Vancouver where Mama’s Kitchen and Boomer’s Sports Bar and Grill used to be. The family friendly, casual restaurant provides Cajun cuisine favorites that are packed with Deep South flavor. 

What I tried: To start, my dining companion and I had the alligator bites, which come with tartar sauce and a small, mixed green salad. I decided on the crawfish etoufee, which is served with rice and cornbread and garnished with chopped tomatoes and onions. My dining companion had the blackened catfish, which was served with dirty rice and a piece of cornbread.

The alligator bites were heavily coated with a seasoned batter and deep fried to a golden crisp. I found the batter very tasty, but the meat underneath was quite bland. The greens served alongside were a premixed variety, and there were some slimy leaf bits stuck to a few of the fresher ones.

The crawfish etoufee possessed a hearty Cajun, super spicy flavor. Small pieces of crawfish were incorporated into the sauce, but it was hard to taste them beyond the heat of the dish. Mixing the fresh chopped tomato into it helped to bring out more of the flavor besides the spiciness of the dish.

My dining companion enjoyed the small, blackened catfish filet and thought the dirty rice was exceptional.

The house-made cornbread is sweet and very dense and can be eaten without any amount of crumbling.

Menu highlights beyond what I tried: Oyster shooters, fried green tomatoes and hush puppies are among the appetizers. For the seafood boil, diners choose the seafood, sauce and add-ons. Seafood choices include crawfish, Dungeness crab, Alaskan king crab legs, snow crab, shrimp, mussels and clams. Add-ons include red potatoes, corn on the cob, mushrooms, sliced Andouille sausage and a French roll. Seafood gumbo, chicken and sausage gumbo, and seafood jambalaya are among the classic entrees. Blackened options include shrimp and chicken breast. Fried options include chicken strips, catfish and oysters. Among the sides are homemade Southern sweet cornbread, cole slaw, sweet potato fries, dirty rice and Cajun fries. Entrees are served with a combination of sides and may be smothered with crawfish etoufee sauce. 

Atmosphere: The space, which was formerly two separate establishments, has been combined to provide a mixed environment consisting of a funky bar with unusual furniture for seating and a disco ball hanging from the ceiling, and a more formal dining room, which has been freshened up with red paint accented with black and gray. The classic stained-glass fixtures still adorn the front window in the dining room, and a few mirrors and prints decorate the walls. Tables set for two line the wall toward the back of the space across from the kitchen. Simple can lights offer subdued illumination above.

Other observations: Just one server was on staff the evening of my visit, but considering the number of diners, she did a fine job of keeping up and being attentive. The atmosphere is simple with a sprinkle of elegance and has a very low-key vibe. The menu offers a fair selection of Cajun cuisine. Alcoholic beverages will be available soon. My Brother’s Crawfish is still awaiting a liquor license.

Cost: Dinner appetizers cost $3 to $12. PoBoy sandwiches and salads are $12.95 to $17. Seafood boils start at $11.99 and are ordered by the pound for diner’s choice of seafood, except for Dungeness crab, which is served whole. Classic, blackened and fried entrees range from $12 to $17. Sides cost $2 to $6. Lunch selections start at  $3.50 and top out at $12.99.